General Clonking

[Shutyrmaf]

Afternoon Men

Vauxhall Combo, 2017, 30k

Low speed front clonking. Been happening for about a week, getting a bit worse. Happens when steering, in car park etc. Also when pulling away after being parked. Your best guesses please?

I’ll take the front wheels of later, have a look for obvious issues…

 

[Shutyrmaf]

Had the wheels off. Nothing obvious. I was hoping it was a spring but they seem fine. Tiny bit of play in the drivers side cv joint.

 

[portland_bill]

Common issues are the anti-roll bar links and the strut top mounts. Springs also, but you say you've checked those. Sometimes breaks can hide well, so give the springs a light tap with a small hammer, or heavy screwdriver handle. They 'ring' differently if cracked or broken.
Anti-roll bar links can seem fine when installed, so you may need to disconnect one end of each to check for wear, then they suddenly become loose.
Top mounts are favourite for the symptoms. If possible, in a safe place, such as a quiet car park, get help to watch the top mounts as the car is moved and steered. Often movement will then be seen, or felt if safe to put a hand on it as the car moves. Don't run over the help!

 

[Shutyrmaf]

Thanks for the knowledge, really appreciated. If it’s top mounts I’ll book it in the garage as my days of using spring compressors are in the past!..

 

[Shutyrmaf]

Portland Bill is the winner!

The problem was the o/s top mount. Got my local garage to change it out and the problem was gone.

Sadly over the last four weeks the spring clonk noise is returning. I returned my van to the garage, they could hear the noise but say they can’t isolate where it’s coming from.

In the past I’ve also had the o/s front spring replaced. I wonder if there’s some incompatibility between the part’s they’ve used. A top mount failing after 30k seems unusual to me.

Oh well, time will tell on this one!